1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless client devices and, more particularly, to a remote bookmarking for wireless client devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
The explosion of hypertext based technologies has spread to the domain of wireless communication systems. Wireless client devices (e.g., two-way pagers, cellular phones, palm sized computing devices and personal digital assistants (PDAs)) and wireless network protocols have been designed which permit interactive access to remote information services (e.g., directory services, financial information, new services, sport information and traffic and weather reports) through a variety of wireless and wired networks, most notably the World Wide Web (WWW) service of the Internet.
One aspect of this technology that has lagged behind the rest is that of input technology and data entry. The primary method of data entry for most wireless client devices is by a keypad. Due to size constraints and cost considerations, the keypads of these wireless client devices are particularly cumbersome. Keypads usually have between 16 and 24 keys, which is a sufficient number for numeric input but very inefficient when dealing with a standard alphanumeric data set (i.e., ASCII).
A user requesting information from the Internet accesses information servers using a web browser. For example, a user requesting information on stock purchases might input the following string:
http://www.stocktips.net/
Individual web addresses of this type is easily entered in an address box of a web browser used with standard desktop and laptop computers. Such web browsers can, for example, include Netscape Navigator from Netscape Communication Corporation or Microsoft Explorer from Microsoft Corporation. However, most users have a plurality of such sites which are frequently revisited. For the user""s convenience, web browsers have also provided a bookmark function that allows a user to save the web addresses of those web sites that the user desires to return to in the future.
Bookmarks for a web browser operate very similar in function to the bookmarks used to hold a place (a page or section of interest) in a book. In the case of the web browser, the bookmark is electronic and the place being held is an electronic document (e.g., a web page) located on an information server and particularly identified by a uniform resource locator (URL). A user bookmarks a web page of interest using a menu selection provided by a user interface of the web browser. For example, Microsoft Explorer has a xe2x80x9cfavoritesxe2x80x9d menu that allows a user to provide a bookmark (and a title or label for the bookmark) to the web page currently being viewed by the web browser.
Bookmarks offer two very significant conveniences: 1) Bookmarks free users from having to remember or write down uniform resource locators (URLs) for information sites of interest; and 2) Bookmarks significantly increase information site access speeds by minimizing navigation actions with the user interface. In today""s fast paced techno-environment, such conveniences have become very important for service providers and users alike.
Acceptance of wireless client devices with network access (e.g., Internet and intranets) will be significantly improved if users can be presented with a user interface that helps to minimize the limitations (e.g., limited processing/memory capabilities and a cumbersome user interface) of these devices. The use of bookmarks in conjunction with these devices will represent a significant advance in the desired direction.
The existing approaches to use of bookmarks on wireless client devices have various problems. One problem with existing approaches is that several navigation actions are required to select a single bookmark. Each navigation action is time consuming and leads to user dissatisfaction. Another problem associated with using bookmarks in conjunction with wireless client devices is that transmission efficiency when using bookmarks is low because URLs, which can be lengthy, need to be transmitted from the wireless client devices in requests for the bookmarked documents identified by the URLs. Still another problem is that with existing approaches to bookmarks, the URLs for the bookmarks need to be provided on or obtained by and stored in the wireless client device seeking to make use of a bookmark. Although storage of bookmarks and their associated URLs on desktop and laptop computers does not significantly impact the memory resources of desktop and laptop computers, storage of bookmarks and their associated URLs does represent a significant burden on the limited memory resources of wireless client devices. Bandwidth requirements for transmissions over wireless networks is a primary consideration for both service provider and user alike. Some of the URLs can be rather lengthy, requiring considerable bandwidth and airtime.
Thus, there is a need for improved approaches to enable a wireless client device to implement bookmarks with improved transmission efficiency, less navigation actions and/or reduced amounts of memory resources.
Broadly speaking, the invention relates to improved techniques that enable wireless devices to implement bookmarks with improved transmission efficiency, reduced user navigation and/or reduced amounts of memory resources. One aspect of the invention pertains to use of a compact request from a wireless device to an intermediate server when requesting a document or file by selection of a bookmark. Another aspect of the invention is the ability of a user to select a bookmark to request the associated document or file with reduced user interaction (e.g., a single button action). Still another aspect of the invention is that memory resources of the wireless devices need not be consumed to store network addresses (e.g., URLs) for the bookmarks. These aspects and other aspects described below can be used separately or in combination.
The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a method, an apparatus, a system, and a computer readable medium. Several embodiments of the invention are discussed below.
As a method for requesting a document on a remote server using a user interface of a wireless client device, one embodiment of the invention includes the operations of obtaining a compact bookmark identifier for a selected bookmarked document, and transmitting a compact request including the compact bookmark identifier to a translation server. Neither the compact bookmark identifier nor the compact request include a universal resource locator for the selected bookmarked document.
As a method for utilizing bookmarks on a wireless client device, one embodiment of the invention includes the operations of: selecting one of a plurality of bookmarks available to the wireless client device; transmitting a compact request for the document or file represented by the selected bookmark from the wireless client device to an intermediate server; obtaining, from the intermediate server, a universal resource locator for the document or file represented by the selected bookmark; preparing a non-compact request for the document or file represented by the selected bookmark, the non-compact request including the universal resource locator for the document or file represented by the selected bookmark; and forwarding the non-compact request for the document or file represented by the selected bookmark to a remote server identified by at least a portion of the universal resource locator.
As a method of selecting among a plurality of information servers by a wireless client device having a display and a keypad, one embodiment of the invention includes the operations of: providing a dual function key on the keypad of the wireless client device, the dual function key having a primary function and a secondary function; executing the primary function if the dual function key is pressed for less than a predetermined time period; executing the secondary function if the dual function key is pressed for a time period greater than or equal to the predetermined time period, the execution of the secondary function producing a compact bookmark request; and forwarding the compact bookmark request to an intermediate server device over a wireless network using a first communications protocol. The compact bookmark request is used to access bookmark information available to the intermediate server device to produce a request to one of the plurality of information servers that couple to the intermediate server device through a wired network using a second communications protocol.
As a computer readable medium including computer program code for requesting a page on a remote server using a user interface of a wireless client device, one embodiment of the invention includes: computer program code for obtaining a compact bookmark identifier for a selected bookmarked page; computer program code for producing a compact request for the selected bookmarked page, the compact request including the compact bookmark identifier and not including a universal resource locator for the selected bookmarked page; and computer program code for transmitting a compact request to a translation server.
As a computer readable medium for utilizing bookmarks on a wireless client device, one embodiment of the invention includes: computer program code for selecting one of a plurality of bookmarks available to the wireless client device; computer program code for transmitting a compact request for the document or file represented by the selected bookmark from the wireless client device to an intermediate server; computer program code for obtaining, from the intermediate server, a universal resource locator for the document or file represented by the selected bookmark; computer program code for preparing a non-compact request for the document or file represented by the selected bookmark, the non-compact request including the universal resource locator for the document or file represented by the selected bookmark; and computer program code for forwarding the non-compact request for the document or file represented by the selected bookmark to a remote server identified by at least a portion of the universal resource locator.
As a wireless communication system, one embodiment of the invention includes a plurality of wireless client devices and a server device coupled to a wireless network servicing the wireless client devices. Each of the wireless devices including a keypad, a memory, a screen display and a processor. The processor operates to execute computer program code to generate a compact bookmark when a key on the keypad is depressed and held for a predetermined time period. The server device provides storage for bookmark information for the wireless client devices. The bookmark information is stored associated with user accounts for the wireless communication devices. Upon receiving a compact bookmark from one of the wireless communication devices, the server produces a request to a remote server storing a document or file associated with the compact bookmark, where the request is formed based on the compact bookmark and bookmark information.
The advantages of the invention are numerous. Different embodiments or implementations may yield one or more of the following advantages. One advantage of the invention is that bookmarks are able to be selected with greater speed and ease. Another advantage of the invention is that between the wireless client device and an intermediate server (e.g., proxy server) a compact request format is used so as to substantially reduce the amount of data to be transmitted for a request. Still another advantage of the invention is that memory storage at the wireless client device to support bookmarks is reduced.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.